While digital twin technology is often associated with product design, development, and manufacturing, it has also become useful – sometimes essential – in the construction industry.

The digital twin can become an exact digital replica of a construction project or asset: A building or group of buildings, a bridge, a highway, a city block, or even an entire city. Digital twins in construction can also be called data twins, virtual models, or even next-generation as-built drawings.

Recently, the digital twin of the Stava bridge in Norway sounded an alarm from the cloud that the bridge was failing. The alarm reached the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) offices. They were able to immediately divert traffic and avoid any injuries.

The NPRA director of technology, Trond Michael Andersen, explained that IoT sensors increased safety and also helped to reduce the costs of repairing or replacing the country’s 5,800 bridges. Marit Reiso, senior technical project manager at SAP Norway, explained that a digital twin model was created by the sensor data continuously to help in the repair work on the bridge.